1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to an encoding system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a motion estimation method that is employed in a motion compensated encoder.
2. Description of the Related Art
Demands for lower bit-rates and higher video quality require efficient use of bandwidth. To achieve these goals, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) created the ISO/IEC international Standards 11172 (1991) (generally referred to as MPEG-1 format) and 13818 (1995) (generally referred to as MPEG-2 format), which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. Although these encoding standards were very effective, new and improved encoding standards, e.g., H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, have been developed.
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC is a new video coding standard that achieves data compression by utilizing various coding tools, such as spatial and temporal prediction, transform and quantization, entropy coding, and etc. Unlike other existing video coding standards, H.264 supports frame coding, field coding and picture adaptive frame and field coding. Although H.264 is a powerful video compression standard, use of a H.264-like video encoder can be very challenging in certain applications, e.g., in real-time applications.